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Legislation does not require Scottish Ministers to consult before using the Emergency Early Release (EER) power contained within the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 (as inserted by Section 11 of the Bail & Release from Custody Act 2023) due to its emergency function.

Scottish Government maintains a regular dialogue with BDA Scotland; and is committed to addressing oral health inequalities.

The latest Public Health Scotland statistics to June 2025 show that NHS patient registration in SIMD 1 areas is higher than the Scotland-wide average. This report also indicates that children and adults from the most deprived areas were less likely to have had contact with NHS primary dental care than those living in more affluent areas.

The latest National Dental Inspection Programme results show that the gap between P1 children with no obvious tooth decay, living in the most and least deprived areas, is at its lowest on record – decreasing from 32.2 percentage points in 2010 to 23.5 percentage points in 2024.

The number of women and their offspring who were exposed to diethylstilbesterol (DES) during pregnancy between the 1940s and 1970s in the UK is unknown because there was no central system for recording which medicines were prescribed for individuals at that time and individual paper medical records from this period are unlikely to be retrievable. It is therefore only possible to estimate the number of women exposed. However, DES was not routinely prescribed in the UK.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) uses the findings of a survey conducted by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) which was published in 1974 and this suggested around 7,500 women in the UK were treated with DES during pregnancy in the interval 1940-1971, mostly during the 1950s.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on staffing levels and future workforce plans: operational decisions are for individual colleges to determine.

Colleges are responsible for making workforce-related decisions in line with legislative requirements, the Code of Good Governance for Scotland’s Colleges and the Scottish Funding Council’s Financial Memoranda. Such decisions may be necessary to respond to the changing needs of the local economy and industry skills demands, as well as ensuring the institution is financially sustainable.

The Scottish Government expects any workforce restructuring decisions to be informed by Fair Work principles, following meaningful engagement with staff and trade unions.

Since 2016 the Scottish Funding Council has allocated the following core teaching and capital funding to Forth Valley College:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40445 on 19 September 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Building owners should refer to the existing guidance on Large Panel System (LPS) buildings, which has been available for several years. This guidance supports the investigation of the building’s condition and structural performance, and where necessary, outlines appropriate mitigation measures.

The intention of National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2), as set out our Planning Position Statement (PPS), is to support the development of spatial management measures through dedicated policies, some specific to fisheries, as well as working to build a stronger evidence base to inform future spatial planning and management where possible.

It is essential that we consider the outcomes from current consultations, the literature review referenced, and issues raised via our PPS consultation. We have therefore made the decision to postpone our consultation on a draft NMP2 to allow for further consideration of the feedback received.

We are aware of our duties under Section 5 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, and the National Marine Plan 2 is being constructed using a robust and transparent evidence base. The assessment of condition is being informed by existing evidence and date, including but not limited to Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 (SMA2020) and data which informed our 2024 review of the NMP.

The evacuation of people from their homes in the event of a fire is an operational matter for SFRS. SFRS have appropriate training and equipment in place to evacuate anyone who requires it.